Setting Sun
Deal With The Devil Delst and Palmer began to make the long journey home, exiting through the strange entrance they'd come through, able to forgo the blood payment. Both of them felt relatively pleased with the day. "Things really did go well." Delst smiled to himself. "Even if I can't..." "....shake this feeling of shadow lurking?" A crisp, sharp voice caught their attention, and Delst and Palmer quickly turned, seeing a man in a white baboon cloak standing behind them. "Such a beautiful place, Nethran Forest." Underneath the jaw of the baboon, he smiled. "Greetings, Delst LaHote. Palmer Solidad. My name is Mr. E, and I have a proposition for you." Palmer remained on guard. "...This guy reeks of evil. I wouldn't trust him. Let's just ignore the bastard." Truth be told, nobody should associate with him. Delst frowned, readying himself in case the man chose to make a strike. Palmer was right. This man reeked of both evil and....something else. He couldn't quite pinpoint the strange waves coming off this man. "You can relax your guard, both of you." E said, raising a hand calmly. "I'm not here to fight either of you — today." "...We refuse. I don't know about Delst, but all I can hear is dung spewing from your mouth, rear-face." Palmer was surprisingly....violent-mouthed. "Now, now, now." E admonished. "Is that any way to treat someone whose come so far...just to see you?" He titled his covered head, looking at Delst. "Specifically you, Delst LaHote." "What!?" Delst hissed. "Me? What do I have that interests you?" "A child." E said simply. "I believe you named him Jason?" "My son!?" The black haired man felt a shock riddle through his body as he snarled, his eyes narrowing with rage as he glared at E. The normally polite, kind Delst was gone. In it's place was someone prepared to rip Mr. E to shreds right here. Palmer slowly began to withdraw his gun from it's holster. "Watch out, Delst. Just knock him down already. We need to hurry and get back to your family." "Good point." Delst agreed, rising to full height slowly, never taking his eyes off of Mr. E as he did so. "We have no business with someone like him." The two began to take their leave, turning their back on Mr. E, who smiled. "Are you so sure you want to ignore me?" He asked quietly. "I said I had a proposition for you — I never said what would happen if you refused to listen, did I?" Delst paused for a moment, his ears twitching. "....I'm all ears." "Your son." Mr. E said simply. "Give him to me. The boy has potential you can only dream of. Something like him....I can foresee many uses for that boy's latent power." Palmer was tempted to pop a cap in the man's ass right about now. "Kids aren't just yours to be used. Grow up and realize that you can't just manipulate everyone." Mr. E smiled, trying his hardest not to choke on the irony of that statement. "Oh, but I already have. I've already manipulated the past to reach this crucial point...and now the future is mine to mold as well. So...am I to take it your answer is no?" "You'd have to be an idiot to think I'd say yes." Delst hissed, his eyes glinting. "I'm going to give you three seconds?" "Oh?" Mr. E sounded surprised. "Three seconds to what?" "To run." Delst replied, lunging forward, leaping into the air as a ghostly, blue, skeletal arm several times his size manifested from a ribcage that looked similar, raising it above his body. Within an instant, he slammed it down upon E, crushing the man into the ground, landing on his feet and hands, a primal look at he glared at where E had been standing. "So fast." E's voiced echoed around the area, however, Delst could not pinpoint his location. "It's such a shame we were unable to talk business. I suppose it's to get...proactive."'' "Do you think I'll let you get away!?" Delst's eyes began to glow, and the ground began to shake under the stress of his magical pressure. "''Delst...should you really spend your time searching for me?" Mr. E chided, his voice mocking. "I would think your attentions are much better focused on your precious human girl and son." Palmer just responded, "C'mon, let's go. We don't have time to waste." Palmer was decidedly serious about this affair. "We're not wasting time." Delst replied quickly, forming a circle into the ground. "I wanted to enjoy a peaceful walk back..." The circle began to glow, erupting a brilliant white light. "This will take us right back." "Alright." Palmer sighed, still a bit annoyed about...well, everything. "Let's just go. Who knows what that rear-faced son of a bitch could do to your family." Delst and Palmer leapt into the portal, being swept up in a strange feeling of elation as they were transported as a form of light; before materialising in front of Delst's home, taking solid form once more. The house seemed...quiet. Everyone was moving about the village as if it was a normal day. "Did he actually not head this way?" Delst was a bit confused; the threat seemed imminent, but now that he was back, it appeared as if nothing was happening. Palmer remained cautious of E and everything, "Remain on your guard. Who knows what the rear-faced jackass will pull. Any second now there could be some kind of explosion and we'd go runnin'. Or he could be in your house right now." Delst twisted the knob of the door, opening it...and was assaulted by the sound of laughter. Opening the door all the way, he saw Jason chasing Chisuzu around the couch, both of them smiling, oblivious to Delst's earlier encounter. "Mama, wait for me!" Jason called, trying to catch up to his mother...and falling flat on his face. Palmer looked on, somewhat amused. That kid, Jason LaHote, was so innocent in this world, and damn if he wouldn't try and protect him from that baboon-faced jerk. "...Chisuzu, be very careful..." He looked over at Delst worryingly, as if signalling "should we tell them". Delst let out an exasperated sign, looking at Palmer as if the man had lost his mind. "Yes Palmer. Now that you mentioned this exactly where they can hear, I suppose we should tell them." Palmer paused a moment, realizing what he'd just done. "...Dammit, yeah. So, Chisuzu, earlier, we encountered a suspicious looking guy in a baboon-mask. He seemed like a jerk. Anyway, he threatened you and Jason. So, we're gonna stay here and keep on guard for you." Chisuzu immediately shrinked. "...This seems awfully suspicious. It feels like a trap." "We're aware." Delst frowned. "We'll keep an eye out for him but..." Delst looked at Jason. "Palmer, do you think now is the time to switch the Lacrima?" Palmer nodded. "You're right." He walked over to Jason, placing his palm on Jason's shoulder. "Hold very still. This won't hurt at all, but you need to focus." Jason stood still, looking up at Palmer with wide-eyes. "All the doctors said that too....it hurt a lot..." Palmer shut his eyes tightly, as magical energy began to flow from Palmer into Jason- and vise versa. For Palmer, it seemed that after a few moments, the Lacrima embedded inside of his body had been morphed into a more faulty copy. "...And done." "T-that was it?" The boy looked at Palmer nervously. He had expected it to hurt horribly. "That was surprisingly quick." Delst walked over to Jason, bending down to look his son in the eye. He seemed entirely fine. "I told you many times, it's no big deal and I wouldn't die, dammit." Palmer sighed, annoyed slightly that nobody believed his words. He had run through any possibilities with the operation and ironed them all out. Delst's eyes narrowed. Whether he wanted to believe Palmer or not, he would breathe easy for now. He picked Jason up, holding the boy, smiling wide. "You're going to grow up to be strong, alright? Just like your dad." Jason grinned one of his stupid, childish grins. "No! I'm gonna be stronger than you, Papa! So I can protect Mama and everyone else in the village!" Palmer was clutching his chest subtly, trying to wave it off. "I think I have a stomach-ache...actually, never mind, it's nothing. Now, let's stay on guard. Who knows when that jackass is gonna attack again." "Right..." Delst frowned, placing his son down and running a hand through his own dark black hair, looking out the window. "Chisuzu, Jason, it's getting late, why don't you two try to get some rest, alright? If anything happens, we'll know." Chisuzu nodded. "I'm sure that we'll be fine...but..." she looked doubtful momentarily. "...You take care yourself. I'm confused about what's going on, but I'll be less scared if you're safe and sound." "Don't worry." Delst tried to reassure her, smiling in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "I can't lose, especially not to someone like him. I'll be fine." Chisuzu felt a shiver run down her spine. "...I hope so. Something isn't right. I can feel a threatening presence..." Palmer reassured Chisuzu offhandedly, "Don't worry about it. I'll deal with it if anything happens that's not a result of the scales tipped in our favour." Delst nodded. "Let's watch outside. I'm sure he'll come for me first." They walked outside, into the crisp night air, and to the surprise of anyone watching, Delst then took a seat, crossing his legs as if meditating. Palmer refused to take a seat, instead wandering around in increasingly bigger circles, remaining constantly alert. "Come out, come out...I've got a bullet with your name on it." He didn't care for any big, fancy clash- rather, he wanted to end it as quickly as possible so that this town would become a safe haven once more. "...Also, Delst, the heck are you doing anyway? Psyching yourself up or something?" "You could say that." Delst replied, his eyes still closed, and he was draped in a soft, light blue aura. "I'm drawing on the Source as we speak. It's not impossible to do in a battle, but, it's easier to draw on it's powers when the distractions are minimal." "I see." He never really understood much about the source of magic, but he did know that it made Delst far more powerful. "...Then focus as much as you can." "Yes..." A sly voice echoed, ripe with the mocking tone it would soon become so well known for. "I suppose a bit of concentration never hurt." A dark aura began to gather, forming into the baboon cloaked man, Mr. E. "I'd say I'm surprised you made it back here so quickly, but I'd be lying. Now...have you thought about my offer?" Palmer reached for his revolver, ready to fire. "Stay alert. Any moment now, he's gonna attack." For one reason or another, magical energy began to glow brightly on Palmer's gun, as if ready. "I think I can speak for us both. The answer's no, ass-face." "Then you leave me no choice." Mr. E grabbed at his cloak, discarding it, revealing the figure of a tall, lean-built man with light skin and gray eyes, whose hair is messy and pale blonde, with strands framing the sides of the face and hanging between his eyes, as well as chin stubble. His attire was that of a brown coat, which sports a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath, as well as geta and a striped dark green and white bucket hat, which cast a unique shadowing effect over his eyes. "I will erase you both from the picture." Palmer immediately withdrew his revolver, locked and loaded, ready to wildly fire upon E. "...I'll erase you by my own hand." Palmer felt a firm grip on his wrist, however, and he saw Delst, his meditation broken. The man stood up, and slowly opened his eyes, which were glowing bright with the power of raw magic. "No, Palmer. I'm going to take this. Let me handle it." With a swish of his cloak, E leapt high into the air, as if flying. His magical energy surged, forming the wings of a dragon as he slipped a ring onto his finger, descending while cutting the abyss sky by sending out a white light. The mass of golden power that was being taken in from above instantly and stored underneath was mercilessly thrown downwards; the attack of Blaze Holy Flare; it was not a normal power. "Dartariul!?" Delst's eyes widened in shock. "No...it's much more advanced." With speed not seen before, the skeletal hand emerged from Delst's side, connected to a ribcage. The spectral skeleton-hand caught the blast, and proceeded to crush it, squeezing out it's energy like one would a fruit's juice. "We're not fighting here, E, not in this village. What do you say to change of venue?" E nodded silently, slipping a silver ring on his finger. "I am prepared." Delst waved his hands, and the two were taken — along with Palmer — from Adorio Village. Within seconds, they reappeared in a rocky, mountainous and rather barren terrain; the Edolas Badlands. "Nothing lives out here." Delst made a sweeping gesture, his glowing eyes staring straight at E. "This should be a perfect location." E dusted his hands nonchalantly, resuming the battle as he summoned a weapon which was an odd mix between a flute and a scythe into his hands. Swinging it around in his right hand, he beckoned, "Then attack me." "With pleasure." Delst responded, waving his hand slowly in the air, summoning a sword from thin air. It seemed to be a normal, average katana, gleaming in the moonlight. "Let's begin." He vanished, almost flickering as he moved, low to the ground towards E, before coming into full view right before the man, staring him directly in the eye before swinging his sword upward, already intending to make a lethal strike as point-blank range. Teleporting back, E silently swung his weapon around with enough speed to gather momentum, creating a small surge of pure wind power, before thrusting the scythe directly towards Delst, unleashing a powerful blade of air pressure akin to that of a small tornado. "You're quick to flee." Delst noticed, firmly gripping his sword and yet his touch still felt light. "I won't let you escape, not with something so precious on the line." Delst formed another hand, batting the wind away and freeing him to take action against the oncoming E without any restraint. "Haō Ensatsuken." His sword then erupted in blue energy as he channeled his evergrowing power into the metal. He then condensed it, wrapping it around the blade as a powerful aura. All of this happened within seconds, and as E got ever closer, Delst slashed downward, releasing the pent up energy in one large burst; slicing through space, releasing a torrent of magical energy from the blade that shot towards E. E braced himself, taking the full brunt of Delst's attack as the pure magical energy burnt into his body. However, for him, it felt as if Delst's attack caused a considerable amount of pain; though the markings of damage were still there. Using the Teleport Ring once more, E translocated behind Delst, bringing his flute-scythe up to strike as he gathered light-green magical energy onto the weapon, swinging upwards to release a powerful magical blast. Delst could feel E's power moving, and using his senses to dodge, sliding to the left, away from the scythe. However, he was slower than he'd expect, and the blade ripped into his shoulder, sending ripples of pain throughout, rocking his body. He jumped back, however, ripping the scythe from his side. Thankfully, his armor had deflected the real force of the blow. "He's good..." Delst murmured, placing a gloved hand to his side and feeling the blood flow. "A Dartariul..." Delst frowned. The power, however, didn't equal the beings that could slay what humans referred to as "Dragons", the Dartari. "It's higher than that..." Delst took a stance, pointing his blade at E as his inviting him to come his way. E called his weapon back in a stoic manner, catching it within his right hand- which began to mutate, forming a tri-clawed hand, awfully draconic. However, by sheer force of will, he forced it back into its previous state, Instantly, gigantic wings of flame spread from his back, while he shot forward with the speed of a bullet, aiming his weapon towards Delst. Delst formed two large, skeletal hands that extended themselves in front of his body, covering him as if in am embrace, providing a durable shield to defend against E's oncoming attack. Knowing that Delst would abuse that Demonic Materialization, E suddenly flew upwards with wings of flame, charging magical energy within his maw to release a second beam of solar energy which travelled towards the shield at high speeds; instantly after, using his blast as a distraction, E flew around Delst's back, about to strike with a powerful claw attack. Delst, however, still had the advantage, and he began to focus all of his power into his magic, forming what appeared to be a ribcage around his body, glowing and spectral like the hands, providing him with additional rock hard defences even at his back, essentially stopping E in his tracks. However, Delst wasn't finished, and extended an arm from this ribcage, which tried to grab at E, to lock him in it's clutches. E braced himself, ready to defend. However, he could do no such thing- as Delst's Demonic Materialization claws had clutched him tightly, as if they could pop him like a balloon. "Now...let's make it rain." Delst murmured, his expression dark as the hand contracted, clenching and squeezing, utterly crushing Mr. E within it's grip, causing blood to splash everywhere. "Predictable." From a fair distance away, E smirked evilly. "You fell for my ruse." It appeared as if he had used a magic ring to create a nigh-indentical duplicate of himself to distract Delst. E was now floating in the air, before summoning his weapon to his side once more. "So you're alive...." Delst calmly wiped the blood his face, looking up at E. "I'm quite surprised, you do have some fight in you." He took a stance, stabbing his sword into the ground. "Then let's see if you handle this." Battle of Gods Delst breathed in, and then quickly exhaled, releasing a large torrent of flame that expanded in a wide arc as it shot towards E, making it nearly impossible to dodge.